Luka Dončić scored 53 points to lead the Lakers past Portland 124-118 on Friday, extending a historic scoring run while LeBron James managed just eight points in Philadelphia's 119-95 loss at Cleveland.
Dončić's performance marks his 11th career 50-point game and his fourth with the Lakers, with five rebounds and five assists as Los Angeles won their fourth straight. It's another milestone.
The Lakers trailed by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before mounting their comeback, and Dončić closed the first half with a shot from well beyond the half-court line that pulled the team within seven points. He scored 20 points in the third quarter alone, reaching 40 for the sixth time in seven games.
With Portland within four points in the final minute, Dončić sealed the win with a lane jumper with 28 seconds remaining. He and Austin Reaves scored 10 points between them in the closing seconds as the Lakers held on.
Reaves scored 25 points for Los Angeles. Walker Kessler had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Obviously playing basketball, it's a lot of fun for me. It's more [fun] when you play like this and when you win games.
Dončić's four consecutive 40-point games put him in rare Lakers company. Only Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, George Mikan and Dončić have scored 40 or more points in four straight regular-season contests for the team.
Deni Avdija had 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for Portland. Damian Lillard scored 22 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost for only the second time this season, as the Lakers avenged a 136-129 home loss to Portland on 27 October.
James struggles in Cleveland return
After leaving the Lakers for Philadelphia in June, LeBron James managed eight points as Cleveland beat Philadelphia 119-95 in an NBA Cup group-stage game on Friday. He made three of 12 field-goal attempts and missed all four of his three-pointers, while recording seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and six turnovers in 31 minutes.
James has scored fewer than 10 points in the regular season only 10 times during his 24-year career. The previous instance was on 4 December last season, when his NBA-record streak of 1,297 straight regular-season games with at least 10 points ended in the Lakers' win at Toronto.
James received warm cheers and scattered boos when introduced in Cleveland and was cheered again when he left the game late in the fourth quarter.
We didn't look like much offensively. We had a couple of spurts. We were able to cut [the deficit] to three in the third quarter. But too many turnovers on my behalf.
Donovan Mitchell had 23 points, including 10 in the first quarter, along with seven rebounds and eight assists in 33 minutes for Cleveland. Evan Mobley contributed 22 points, and the Cavaliers won the rebound count 56-42 over Philadelphia despite centre Jarrett Allen's injury absence.
Philadelphia's five-game winning streak ended, and the 76ers have now lost only twice in 10 games this season. Joel Embiid scored six points on free throws after missing all nine field-goal attempts, while Jaylen Brown topped the 76ers with 20 points, VJ Edgecombe had 19 and Tyrese Maxey added 17.
What comes next
The NBA Cup quarterfinals will be played December 4-5 and semifinals December 8-9, before the final on December 11.
